Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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Evaluation of the Accuracy of the $EasyTest^{TM}$ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag, a Rapid Diagnostic Test, in Uganda

  • Chong, Chom-Kyu (GenBody Inc.) ;
  • Cho, Pyo Yun (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine) ;
  • Na, Byoung-Kuk (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine) ;
  • Ahn, Seong Kyu (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine) ;
  • Kim, Jin Su (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Jin-Soo (Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Sung-Keun (Department of Pharmacology, Inha University School of Medicine) ;
  • Han, Eun-Taek (Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University) ;
  • Kim, Hak-Yong (Department of Biochemistry & CBITRC, Chungbuk National University) ;
  • Park, Yun-Kyu (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine) ;
  • Cha, Seok Ho (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine) ;
  • Kim, Tong-Soo (Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine)
  • Received : 2013.11.14
  • Accepted : 2014.07.14
  • Published : 2014.10.31
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Abstract

In recent years, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been widely used for malaria detection, primarily because of their simple operation, fast results, and straightforward interpretation. The Asan $EasyTest^{TM}$ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag is one of the most commonly used malaria RDTs in several countries, including Korea and India. In this study, we tested the diagnostic performance of this RDT in Uganda to evaluate its usefulness for field diagnosis of malaria in this country. Microscopic and PCR analyses, and the Asan $EasyTest^{TM}$ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag rapid diagnostic test, were performed on blood samples from 185 individuals with suspected malaria in several villages in Uganda. Compared to the microscopic analysis, the sensitivity of the RDT to detect malaria infection was 95.8% and 83.3% for Plasmodium falciparum and non-P. falciparum, respectively. Although the diagnostic sensitivity of the RDT decreased when parasitemia was ${\leq}500\;parasites/{\mu}l$, it showed 96.8% sensitivity (98.4% for P. falciparum and 93.8% for non-P. falciparum) in blood samples with parasitemia ${\geq}100\;parasites/{\mu}l$. The specificity of the RDT was 97.3% for P. falciparum and 97.3% for non-P. falciparum. These results collectively suggest that the accuracy of the Asan $EasyTest^{TM}$ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag makes it an effective point-of-care diagnostic tool for malaria in Uganda.

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